Stillers 2006 Post-draft
Analysis
This won't go down like the
1974 Stiller draft, but it's hard to stockpile a plethora of quality picks in
this day in age when drafting 32nd.� The
Stillers seemed to have gotten a couple of football players, but as I
often cite, it takes a couple years to see how many picks pan out, and it takes
the strapping on of pads and competition against NFL players to see what these
young men can really do (or can't do, as often is the case).� And, despite the fawning and gushing over
each & every draft pick by the front office, coaching staff, and a majority
of the fan base, we all can easily hearken back to the same fawning we'd heard
just a few years ago in regard to Jeremy Staat, Scott Shields, Freddie Gibson,
Danny Farmer, and so on.�
I'll go through each pick
and then summarize the Stiller draft at the end of the article.
Round 1 - (traded up to
the 25th pick in trade with NYG, sending the #32 pick, and a 3rd & 4th
round pick to NY) Santonio Holmes, WR, Ohio Bate.�� Holmes was
generally considered the premier WR in a draft that was notably weak at this
position.�� Nonetheless, Holmes is an
explosive player that excelled against the rigorous, skilled competition of the
Big 10.� He also has some acumen in
returning punts, which helps to negate the return-chores vacancy created by
Randle El's departure.� Given Cowher's
trepidation with starting rookies -- unless totally painted into a corner by FA
defection, injury, and depleted depth -- it's highly unlikely Holmes will
start.� In fact, expect the cataclysmic
fretting and stammering by Cowhard ("He doesn't quite have a feel for the
offense yet�.") the minute Holmes cannot recite the exact routes of the X,
Y, and Z receivers for every play in the playbook on the 5th day
of training camp at Latrobe.� But, he
should get plenty of PT when the Stillers go 3-wide and 4-wide.�
Round 2 - None.�� Traded to Minnesota and received two 3rd
rounders.� Mixed feelings on this trade.� There's a noticeable drop-off in playmaking
skill and talent from round 2 to round 3.�
Then again, the Stillers were obviously at the bottom of round 2, and
it's a big drop-off from, say, pick 37 to pick 64.� Plus, the Stillers have had some awful luck in round 2, to
include Will Jackwell, Staat, Shields, Zo Jackson, and even Ric Colclough.� Plus, Rooney might very well have been
worried about paying for a 2nd rounder (which are almost never cut as a rookie)
and might have been in favor of the two 3rd rounders, 1 of whom could easily be
cut without much fanfare and the other of whom would command a lesser salary
than a 2nd round pick.�
Round 3 -
�� - Anthony Smith, FS, Syracuse.� A
somewhat surprising pick.� Smith's bio
had more negatives than that of Billy Clinton, and Darnell Bing of USC was
still on the board.� To be sure, Bing
slid, but I'm not quite sure what the Stillers saw in Smitty that they didn't
see in Bing.� Then again, Secondary
coach Darren Perry said Smith "is a lot like Chris Hope."�� Ok, great -- the Stillers were able to cut
bait with 1 of the 2 overt weak links on the defense (Foote being the other)
and then went out of their way to replace the weak link with a guy that reminds
them of the weak link.� Kind of reminds
me of a guy that divorces his wife, then gets remarried to a lady that reminds
him of his first wife.� Very odd.�
����������� The other negative thing about this selection is that,
assuming Anthony makes the team, the Stillers equipment manager will have to
sew "Aaron Smith" and "Anthony Smith" onto the back of each
man's jerseys.� This will cost money in
material and labor, and Rooney won't be pleased at all about this extra
expense.�
����������� On the plus, side, Smitty was a very solid spec team
contributor for 'Cuse as a coverage man and kickblocker.�
�� - Willie Reid, WR, Florida St.� A quick,
speedy WR and kick returner that will find immediate work on the Stillers spec
team return chores.� His presence (along
with Holmes) will also ensure that Wilson, Morgan, and Nate Washington don't
rest on their collective laurels in the offseason.� Reid has electric RAC skills that Whisenhunt has to be frothing
over.� Reid's frail build presents a
concern as far as his ability to endure the rigors of 4 preseason games, 16
regular season games, and perhaps a few playoff games.�
Round 4 -
�� - Willie Colon, OG, Hofstra.� �Obviously, a surprise pick, although once
past round 3, any number of players from small time schools can be a
surprise.� At 6-2, 320 pounds, Colon
already had the build to play guard in the NFL.� His athleticism is supposedly good; we'll see just how good it is
when he faces NFL competition.� This man
is obviously a project that, if he makes the squad, will take 1-2 years of
grooming before being able to legitimately compete for a starting job.�
�� - Orien Harris, DE, U. of Miami.� A
solid defensive lineman who slipped down in the draft due to low productivity
and a lack of consistency.� I'd really,
really like this guy if his frame length were another inch or 2 more, but at
6-3, 302, he already is right-sized to play DE in the 3-4 defense.� Thus, the Stillers won't have to wait 2-3
years for him to bulk up from 270 pounds the way they typically have had to for
fellows like Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel, Kevin Henry, and so on.� If the Stillers can channel this man's many
strengths, this could be the best value pick of the Stiller draft.�
Round 5 -
�� - Omar Jacobs, QB, Bowling Green.� The
Stillers have a near-annual desire to "check the block" in terms of
drafting a QB in round 5, 6, or 7, and this year Jacobs, following in the
footsteps of luminaries such as Brian St. Pierre, helps get the blocked
checked.� You'd have thought the Kordell
Stewart/Tee Martin/ Anthony Wright experiments would have ended this kind of
bizarre fetish of taking an athletic QB with poor mechanics and technique, but
for some reason Cowhard and company seem infatuated with this type of QB.� Perhaps Jacobs might be tried out in a
"slash" type of role, although the WR corps is a verifiable logjam
with Ward, Wilson, Holmes, and Reid assured of slots and Morgan, Washington,
and Yound all vying for spots along with spec teams ace Sean Morey.� Plus, with a forty time of 4.83, this ain't
a Kordell or even a Randle El.�
- Pluses: None.�
- Minuses:� Too many to succinctly list here.�
�� - Charles Davis, TE, Purdue.�� An
athletic, strong TE with only marginal receiving and running skills.� At 6-5, 254 pounds, this guy makes my first
inclination to be, "Is there any chance he can play OLB?", although
his speed of 4.91 is absolutely glacial.�
With Cowhard's love affair of Jerame Tuman, I'm not sure when Davis will
ever see the field.����
Round 6 - Marvin Philip, C, U. of Cal.��
A squat, stout center that played well
for the Golden Bears.� There's been some
babble about "he's too short", which is patently absurd for a center.�� At 6-1,
he's got perfect height for a center and seems to possess the leverage to ward
off pudgy nose tackles.� Could be a
terrific value pick for the Stillers.�
Round 7 - Cedric Humes,
RB, Va. Tech.� With Cowhard's love affair of big backs and his equal
fear of using any RB that weighs less than 240 pounds, coupled with the Day 2
spurning by Atlanta for a Stiller trade of TJ Duckett, I am not sure if this
pick was made out of fearful desperation or careful deliberation.� Humes is a fairly big back (6-0, 227) that
will probably bulk up to 235-240 rather easily.� Although not regarded as a punishing blocker, he might give the
Stillers some versatility by being able to back up at both RB and FB and could
be Verron Haynes' replacement if Haynsie departs in '07.� Humes' association with Frank Beamer and Va.
Tech could translate into some solid spec teams contributions.� For a 7th round pick, this was about as good
a selection as one can hope for.
Overall Stiller Draft Synopsis:� I'll
obviously need to see these men perform in preseason to get a better feel for
the overall effectiveness of this draft.�
On the plus side, the Stillers selected several players who had
multi-year starting experience at big-time programs.�� In other words, not many Chris Conrads' or Jamain Stephens' or
Scott Shields' among this bunch, particularly on Day 1.�
This draft fits the Colbert
model to a "T" -- players from big-name conferences who showed more
than just a "1-year wonder" and had the combination of good
collegiate performance; good measurables; and good potential.�
The most wasted pick was
obviously Jacobs.� This is a pick that
has little chance to excel in the NFL.�
The team would have been better off spending a pick on someone who might
help in a platoon role, &/or a spec teams role, such as a CB, DE, or
LB.�
The best overall value, in
my opinion, could turn out to be Harris or Philip.�� Both have some upside and should thrive and grow in the Stiller
environment.� Both were grabbed with
2nd-day picks that are relatively low in opportunity cost.�
My biggest concern from this
draft is that I see a lot of Detroit Lions/Matt Millen over infatuation with
wide receiver. The Stillers lost Randle El, so they placed a premium on Holmes
and moved up to select him.� Okay, fine
-- I can live with that, especially given Holmes' productivity in the Big 10
and his talents and potential.� But
then, the Stillers fretted that they'd also lost a kick returner in
Randle El, and apparently not enthralled with Holmes' decent abilities in that
chore, they selected Reid, who admittedly has shown some dazzling skill in that
area.� Still, counting the 2 picks (one
3rd rounder and one 4th rounder) the Stillers had to trade to NY to swap for
the Holmes spot (#25 in round 1) and the actual picks of Holmes and Reid, the
Stiller essentially spent 4 draft picks to replace Antwaan Randle El.� Rather
steep for a #2 WR that caught all of 1 TD pass last season and returned all of
4 punts for TDs in 4 NFL seasons.�
�
My related concern is that
the Stillers -- a team that employs the 3-4 defense -- spent zero picks
on LINEBACKERS in this draft.� I was
puzzled and concerned after Day 1 that no LBs were drafted, but I figured
Colbert and company would nab at least 1 LB on Day 2.� I'm not sure if Colbert has checked his roster lately.� Farrior and Porter are clearly on the
downside of their careers.� Haggans is
actually older than Porter, although, since he rotted for 4 years, he's not
been pounded and banged up as much as a typical LB his age would have
been.� Foote is an entirely subpar
starter that should be supplanted soon, if not immediately.� Backup Jamie Harrison turns 28 later this
week.� Rian Wallace is a marginal NFL
linebacker and is step away from being sent to the unemployment line.� Andre Frazier has shown many flashes of
hitting and ballhawking, but he's clearly an OLB only.� Kriewaldt is a spec teamer with no little
ability to start at ILB.� For years, the
Stillers have found outstanding value at LB in rounds 3-5, to include Earl
Holmes, Porter, Haggans, Jerry O, and even Carla Emmons and Jason GilDong.� I'm absolutely bewildered how a team that
relies so heavily on LBs for its base defense plus spec teams, amidst an aging
roster, could simply ignore this position in a draft in which they selected nine
players. Somehow, a backup to the backup TE, as well as a marginal QB that has
little chance of making any long-term contributions, were deemed more critical
than a LB that could very well start in 2007, if not earlier if injuries hit in
'06.�
One last draft-related
note�..I'd have typed more, but I was too encumbered, laughing my ass off, at
Pitt WR Greg Lee, who foolishly decided to enter the draft after his junior
year.� Lee, who dropped at least 26 passes
last season at Pitt and had workout measurables comparable to, say, Sean Morey,
foolishly thought he'd strike it rich in the NFL draft.� Not surprisingly, the sack o' dung went
undrafted in hilarious fashion!� Ha
ha!!�� What a riot!�� Hell, even his lowly teammate, CB Josh
"Gay" Lay, was drafted in the 6th round by N'arleans!�� Perhaps Lee can get an FA contract with a
team that needs some expendable bodies to catch balls and carry the pigskin in
camp drills.� Enjoy your time in the
unemployment line, Greg�.and let us know how the customer service is!��